Rugby World Cup [Archive] - Page 14

Soko

01/10/2007, 3:21 PM

Hernandez plays full back for his club and Contempomi plays outhalf for Leinster.....

And Wallace is nowhere their abilty. Now if he started playing outhlaf consistently and to a high standard, then I think he would have a far better claim on the position

O' Gara needs to go off some place and not look at a rugby ball for a couple of months. If he doesn't come back then leave Wallace at it

OneRedArmy

01/10/2007, 3:21 PM

Still though, is it not time for Humph Jr to step up?I've never had any sense that he's even at Paddy Wallace's level, never mind showing any promise to be better.

He got a few 1st team appearances at Leicester but was very much 3rd choice and has never really made a breakthrough (one good performance against Munster when Goode was out injured). He played for Ireland A when the England A team hockeyed them in Ravenhill this year.

He's also about 25 or 26 now, no spring chicken.

Also appears Paul Burke and Andy Goode are playing ahead of him this year?

Aberdonian Stu

01/10/2007, 3:42 PM

He's 25.

kingdom hoop

01/10/2007, 4:12 PM

I made the typical rush to snap judgment based on that Munster match.:rolleyes: I'd say he must be injured or something at the moment cos Burke started their first game and was replaced by a winger (Johne Murphy took the kicks thereafter actually). And in their most recent game Goode started with neither Burke nor Humphreys on the bench. Edit; yes Humphreys is injured, don't know where, how, when etc. Just had a quick perusal of a forum and there were a good few posters saying Humphreys should be ahead of Goode, or at least rotated with him. He's still one to watch, 25 is pretty young in rugby terms.

Torn-Ado

01/10/2007, 4:30 PM

Watching Ireland yesterday was like watching a car crash. I agree with IFK when he says that if we didn't need the four tries, we might well have beaten them. However the damage was done earlier on in the group.

When we needed that little spark and flair we were left wanting. It reminded me of Irish teams ten/fifteen years ago when skill when creativity was non existent and trudging, labouring movement was the order of the day. We had no flair and we were completely out of ideas. We had no players in support for the offload, we hardly ever competed with their lineout and our kicking from defence only added to the problems. We simply had nothing up our sleeves for such a demanding game.

They were basically the Irish football team with an oval ball.

pete

01/10/2007, 4:41 PM

They were basically the Irish football team with an oval ball.

The Irish football team have always progressed past the group stages since 16+ team tournaments introduced. The rugby team don't even have to qualify although more than likely will have to partake in qualifying group next time.

Torn-Ado

01/10/2007, 5:00 PM

The Irish football team have always progressed past the group stages since 16+ team tournaments introduced. The rugby team don't even have to qualify although more than likely will have to partake in qualifying group next time.

Thats true. But my point was that the Irish rugby team, like their football playing counterparts, are completely devoid of any ideas and creativity. And therefore are sh*te.

fitzknows

01/10/2007, 7:20 PM

Here are some on the on-field targets outlined by the IRFU in their strategic plan published in 2003

- Ireland consistently ranked as one of the top 4 teams in the world and reaching the semi-finals of RWC 2007

- Winning at least one 6 nations championship

- Finishing at least in the runners-up position in 3 out of 4 seasons of the 6 nations championship

- Winning the European Rugby Cup once and winning 2 Celtic leagues.

Anybody can make their own minds up as to whether Eddie O'Sullivan has achieved the targets set out by his employers. Granted the last one had little or nothing to do with him.

Compare this to his football counterpart. The FAI have stated that the target for the senior side is qualification for the 2010 WC and i'm pretty sure if that is not achieved the manager will be on his way.

SkStu

01/10/2007, 7:58 PM

onceahoop

01/10/2007, 8:02 PM

Heard someone on the radio today (might have been Gerry Thornley) saying he was fairly certain most of the players weren't relishing another four years under EOS. That will make for interesting times. If he loses the dressing room it'll be curtains.

OneRedArmy

01/10/2007, 11:29 PM

Phillip Browne's (IRFU Chief Exec) RTE interview today wasn't exactly an unqualified endorsement of Eddie's position.

He said they would be doing a review of what went wrong and that would include O'Sullivan's role as Head Coach.

I think the exact quote was "as it stands Eddie O'Sullivan is our coach for the next four years".....

osarusan

02/10/2007, 6:27 AM

You just picked the best couple of players, what about the others?

Who are the token black players in the South African squad?

Ash

02/10/2007, 7:17 AM

why the hell was he given a brand new 4 year contract
before the WC (subject of his primary target) even began. The mind boggles.

One of the commentators said they offered him the contract early as if Ireland
went on and did well/won the RWC it would have costed them a whole lot more
to keep him on.

The IRFU were expecting to do very well and so saw it as a good move in managing costs.
Unfortunately for them it completely backfired.

tetsujin1979

02/10/2007, 9:05 AM

the targets make interesting reading but really just beg the question : why the hell was he given a brand new 4 year contract before the WC (subject of his primary target) even began. The mind boggles.
The contract question is a hard one to get right, Mick McCarthy was offered a new contract before the 2002 World Cup and the FAI were lambasted for it, whereas Kerr's contract was only until the end of the 2006 qualifiers, if we had qualified, then it not unreasonable to guess a new contract would have been offered to take him well past the World Cup, no matter how well we did in it.
In the current situation, there's no way Staunton should have been given a 4 year deal, a 2 year deal (ie until the end of the qualifiers) with a 2 year extension following a review of the qualifiers would have been a far better option.

paul_oshea

02/10/2007, 12:16 PM

who said this "eddie osullivan is a great coach"?

shakermaker1982

02/10/2007, 5:34 PM

Just back and Paris' beer was as expensive as I remembered! How can it cost 8/9 euros a pint?!

Other than BOD I cannot recall too many players coming out with any credit from that performance. D'Arcy looks lost and O'Gara is a pale imitation of the player that helped Munster win the HC. I had high hopes going into the WC - I thought we had a chance of winning the group but never imagined for one second we'd play that poorly in all 4 games.

Our back row was non existent - Neil Best should have been on earlier, WTF has happened to Leamy? Our scrum seemed to hold up ok, we have clearly been working on that area but unfortunately we seemed to have neglected the lineout - did we lose 4 off our own throw?

God I'm disappointed, to make matters worse our football team isn't much kop either and Germany are coming to town.....

Macy

03/10/2007, 8:26 AM

I agree need to blood new players but Carney is 32 & Wallace needs to start playing as out half for his club before can be considered.
Don't really see Carney beyond this season, the only logic to including him in the World Cup squad was as an unknown impact player, and then he wasn't used. If O'Sullivan is in charge for the 6 Nations he could well play as it'll be do or die for him as coach if he survives that long and similarly a new coach will be wanting to get off to a good start. After that, it'll be no choice but rebuild given the age profile of the squad.

BTW Contepomi is far from the nice guy image all the Dublin media have built him up as. Mouthing off to the referee constantly & goading Irish players. Hernandez is much better player. I expect Munster to give him a battering again next time they play Lenister. :(
That'll be business as usual between Contepomi and Munster. He's no better or worse than Stringer for mouthing off to the ref or opposition, but that's different as he's from Cork?

I wouldn't call them sacrificail lambs, especially Niall O'Donovan. He had responsibility for that pack, and ultimately the disastrous lineouts, and forward turnovers were as much down to him than anybody else. He deserves to lose his job. He will lose his job. We are going to have to go down under to recruit specialist coaches, particularly a scrummaging and lineout expert. Why not approach Matrin Johnson...he's looking to get into coaching? And he was arguably the greatest second row the game has ever seen. Something radical has to be done, and an overhaul of the squad for the six nations has to be high on the list. We open against Italy.That provides the perfect opportunity to experiment. I would like to see a team against the Italians along the likes of:
Exactly - O'Donovan was touted as a potential replacement for O'Sullivan around the Championship! O'Sullivan's fault we had no scrummaging specialist coach so he must share that responsibility, but the rest of the pack play can be put down to him to a large degree.

Kramer

03/10/2007, 1:37 PM

Martin Johnson as coach??? Isn't he the ****er that snubbed our president?

Dodge

03/10/2007, 2:17 PM

Martin Johnson as coach??? Isn't he the ****er that snubbed our president?

No he poplitely shook her hand. He's the ****er who with one simple move totally threw the whole Irish team off their game.

Best forward I've ever seen in Rugby (with apologies to Zinzan brooke)

Kingdom

03/10/2007, 2:30 PM

No he poplitely shook her hand. He's the ****er who with one simple move totally threw the whole Irish team off their game.

Best forward I've ever seen in Rugby (with apologies to Zinzan brooke)

Bingo. Great move on behalf of Johnson. Silly move on the Irish part, very similar to the stoopid reaction of Caffrey when Mayo were practicing in front of the Hill last yr.

OneRedArmy

03/10/2007, 2:32 PM

Martin Johnson as coach??? Isn't he the ****er that snubbed our president?Not sure that protocol and etiquette should be the key factor in recruiting a rugby coach.

Johnson is a legend. Really not sure if he'd be a good coach, but he'd certainly instill them with pride.

Torn-Ado

03/10/2007, 2:55 PM

I couldnt care less who we get as a lineout coach as long as he can restore our lineouts to the way they used to be.

We used to have one of the best lineouts in the world over the last few years. But this WC was embarrassing. We lost many of our own lineouts in dangerous positions and rarely competed with the oppostions. Not good enough.

gustavo

04/10/2007, 12:54 PM

Do France , England , Figi and Scotland have any chance over the weekend?

osarusan

04/10/2007, 1:09 PM

Do France , England , Figi and Scotland have any chance over the weekend?

Slight chance, none at all, slight chance.

Torn-Ado

04/10/2007, 1:12 PM

Do France , England , Figi and Scotland have any chance over the weekend?

England, Scotland and France to a lesser extent are all in with a shout IMO.

Schumi

04/10/2007, 1:23 PM

Scotland have no chance, they're woeful. The others have a small chance, if France were playing anyone else, I'd say they had an even chance but against the All Blacks in Wales, it's unlikely.

pete

04/10/2007, 1:38 PM

I hope Australia win not just because I have them as winners but it will be really depressing to see England in the semi final.

RogerMilla

04/10/2007, 2:26 PM

i think scotland could win....

OneRedArmy

04/10/2007, 2:50 PM

Scotland have no chance, they're woeful. The others have a small chance, if France were playing anyone else, I'd say they had an even chance but against the All Blacks in Wales, it's unlikely.I'd say Scotland have a better chance than England. But similarly, I have a chance of being hit by lightning, pulling Angelina Jolie and winning the lottery all in the one day.

Similar odds.

shakermaker1982

04/10/2007, 7:02 PM

I'll be rooting on the Scots and hope they do it. Argentina are obviously favourites but if Scotland keep the penalty count against them low and make sure they take any chances that comes their way then it could be close. I'm sure the Scots have been giving their full back plenty of high balls in anticipation of the aerial bombardment that is due to come his way this Sunday.....

New Zealand should beat France in style but they haven't faced a challenge yet and could be caught cold. Very strange selections from Laporte if I'm being honest though - looks like another team will be doing a lot of kicking this weekend.....

I hope Australia pulverise England as the boks did a few weeks ago. The Aussies attacking play should cut them to shreds. I'll also be rooting for Fiji to pull off another shock, they need a good start if they are to have any chance of suppressing the boks.

OneRedArmy

04/10/2007, 10:33 PM

A few Kiwi friends of mine still talk about how much they paid touts for World Cup final tickets before they played France in the semis in 1999 so heavily were they favoured....... :)
France can turn it on at a moments notice, wouldn't write them off.

Arguably AB's peaked about the same time as Ireland based on their mediocre Tri-Nations form.

onceahoop

04/10/2007, 11:19 PM

All Blacks, Boks, Argentina and Australia for me.

bennocelt

05/10/2007, 8:27 AM

Have you read any of whats gone before or did you just choose to ignore it?

I've followed the Irish rugby team for 20 years and I can tell you whats on the mind of most genuine rugby fans this morning, yesterday evening and indeed over the last few weeks wasn't the bloody anthem.

If you have a problem with the anthem, suggest you bring it up with your club, who will raise it at provincial council and onwards to the IRFU.......

yeah but if they are represent ireland, the least you could expect is them to play the national anthem:rolleyes:

but you are right........im not into rugby at all, so i dont really care about it too much, im a football man 100%

Real ale Madrid

05/10/2007, 8:40 AM

Argentina have hit form bang on time for this tournament - id be amazed if Scotland got within 15 points of them let alone turn them over. All this talk about Scotland "taking thier chances" is bluff - they are useless.

Unfortunately i suspect South africa are going to thrash Fiji who have already played thier final. Any remote chance Fiji had is gone now that Nicky Little is out injured.

Australia should again have far too much for England - England haven't done much but with Wilkinson in the team could make it a competitive enough game. Good game for the Aussie -nothing like playing against England to keep them focused.

New Zealand can only beat themselves at this stage - they have shown beyond doubt that they are better than France. France are going to try and pin the All Blacks in thier own half as much as possible and hope they can front up as best they can. A risky strategy - any loose kicks could be disasterous - i think they would be better off playing as open as possible and attack from everywhere but to be honest - New Zealand are so powerful it should make no difference.

SA v Arg, NZ v Aus in semis

IsMiseSean

05/10/2007, 8:53 AM

I'll be cheering on france tomorrow night, I'd love to see them win the whole thing! They are a great entertaning team and unprecditable too.
Argentina should beat Scotland but it's the first time they've been favourites so they could bottle it
South Africa and Fiji is a no contest, South Africa will win easily
Australia and England I reckon will be tight, but quality should prevail by the end, Australia just...

OneRedArmy

05/10/2007, 9:08 AM

yeah but if they are represent ireland, the least you could expect is them to play the national anthem:rolleyes:They aren't. They are representing the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
but you are right........im not into rugby at all, so i dont really care about it too much, im a football man 100%Wrong thread for you perhaps?:confused:

OneRedArmy

05/10/2007, 9:09 AM

New Zealand can only beat themselves at this stage Absolutely. But they've managed to beat themselves in the last 4 World Cups.

The weight of national expectation is huge.

Dodge

05/10/2007, 9:16 AM

Argentina should beat Scotland but it's the first time they've been favourites so they could bottle it

They were favourites v Ireland....

ifk101

05/10/2007, 9:27 AM

I can't see Argentina losing to Scotland. All Argentina need to do is not give away penalties within kicking range because the Scots aren't going to score a try. I think Argentina will win by 14+ points and I'll be betting on this.

But generally speaking I haven't been impressed by any of the Six Nations at all this World Cup so I expect to see the Tri-Nations and Argentina in the semis.

IsMiseSean

05/10/2007, 11:10 AM

They were favourites v Ireland....

Slight favourites, alot of pundits/fans thought Ireland would still win the game but not get the required bonus point.
They are clear favourites for this game, so they could underestimate scotland

I've €40 riding on the Argies to reach the final

drinkfeckarse

05/10/2007, 12:25 PM

I can't see Argentina losing to Scotland. All Argentina need to do is not give away penalties within kicking range because the Scots aren't going to score a try. I think Argentina will win by 14+ points and I'll be betting on this.

I agree. Not giving away silly penalties is vital as Paterson is a fantastic kicker.

OneRedArmy

05/10/2007, 12:42 PM

I think I might do a 4 way Southern Hemisphere accumulator. No such thing as a safe bet but any of the 3 Northern Hemisphere teams (or Fiji) winning would be a surprise.

I'm firewalled from gambling sites at work, anyone know what accumulated odds would be for the above?

Soko

05/10/2007, 1:12 PM

4/7 off the top of my head

OneRedArmy

05/10/2007, 1:14 PM

4/7 off the top of my headOther way around surely? Was expecting 7/4-2/1?

Dodge

05/10/2007, 1:38 PM

Using paddypower odds; Aus (1/6), NZ (1/6), SA (1/200), Arg (1/6 ) A €10 accumulator will give you €15.96 back

OneRedArmy

05/10/2007, 1:51 PM

Using paddypower odds; Aus (1/6), NZ (1/6), SA (1/200), Arg (1/6 ) A �10 accumulator will give you �15.96 backThose are fierce bad odds.:eek:

Better having a punt on France methinks....

pete

05/10/2007, 3:00 PM

Using paddypower odds; Aus (1/6), NZ (1/6), SA (1/200), Arg (1/6 ) A �10 accumulator will give you �15.96 back

On GameBookers its Aus (2/9), NZ (2/11), SA (1/33) & Arg (2/11), A �10 accumulator will give you �17.60 back.

Very short odds on NZ as 8/11 to win when they probably have to beat France, Australia & South Africa. :eek:

I still have Australia e/w to win but I would make SA favourites given their route & the final. 11/4 to win not bad.

Argentina are 16/1 to win outright so e/w would be reasonable.